Our study examines chunking ability in the processing of auditory multi-word expressions (MWEs) in first (L1) and second languages (L2) using a single- and dual-task paradigm. The findings reveal that divided attention caused by dual tasks does not impair L1 speakers’ ability to bind individual words into a complete MWE (i.e., a unitary chunk). In contrast, L2 learners struggle to form complete MWEs under dual tasks, representing them as smaller, multiple chunks in memory. Divided attention also reduces the overall number of chunks recalled for both groups. Additionally, increased language proficiency and repeated practice through training are positively correlated with the formation of larger chunks, whereas greater working memory capacity is associated with the recall of a greater number of chunks. These findings underscore the challenges L2 learners face in acquiring relatively large chunks and suggest that L2 learning improves through gradually binding smaller units into larger chunks over time.

A lingering feature of academic publications in political science is persistent gender gaps. In the aggregate, men are dominant in the discipline, and on the individual level, men publish and submit more articles and books than women do. In this article, we explore one way that journals may potentially reduce the gender gap in publishing. Focusing on the composition of editorial boards, we hypothesize that a higher share of female editorial board members, particularly if such representation is coupled with a high share of female editors, can increase women’s presence as journal authors. We test this argument using data from 120 political science journals. Through quantitative analyses, we find a relatively strong association between a high presence of female board members and female authors, especially in situations with a high percentage of female editors.

Media attention to policing has brought a proliferation of narratives seeking to contextualize incidents of police violence. Here, we test whether exposure to such narratives shift Americans’ opinion or behavior. To do so, we first identify and track the media prevalence of two of these narratives: one focused on racial bias in policing and a second focused on the dangers of the profession. Despite the presence of these narratives in media, we find, experimentally, that public opinion about police violence is stable, regardless of the media narrative used. Finally, to better understand these null results, we use a content analysis of open-ended responses to uncover the demographic and ideological characteristics that are most more deterministic of their reactions to police violence. Altogether, these findings indicate attitudes about policing and planned political participation are ossified and unresponsive to media narratives.

An ever-increasing availability of digital texts has opened new research opportunities for political scientists. Yet, researchers who want to utilise these data face several challenges. This paper presents the results of a community-wide survey tapping into various research challenges, training needs, and preferences of scholars using text analysis methodologies. The survey involved respondents from various academic fields and career levels. Our findings indicate that text-as-data methods are gaining momentum in various political science subfields and are used on a wide range of political texts. However, relevant training is not easily accessible to all. Only half of the respondents have ever participated in a training event, though there is a high demand for training opportunities in different formats and at different levels. In ‘Conclusions’, we discuss how the inaccessibility of training risks narrowing the field of researchers.

The History of Mankind-project (HoM) was carried out from 1944–76 under the auspices of UNESCO with the aim of producing a non-eurocentric history of the world from prehistory to the present. The article analyses how the mid-century wave of independence changed the HoM-project. In hindsight a trajectory can be identified from decolonisation as a marginal concern to a new situation where decolonisation as political process and epistemological agenda influenced the HoM with respect to its political aims, organisational structure, the selection of authors, and the narrative of world history it presented. As such it is a clear story of how the end of empire altered how world history has been conceptualised and written. The article explores this theme across four HoM volumes and breaks fresh ground by investigating the agency of individual author-editors and the actual historical narratives they produced in the published volumes. We argue that the approaches and the organisation of the HoM were challenged as anti-eurocentrism in history writing became coupled increasingly to decolonisation and the quest for epistemological sovereignty.

This article argues that power–dependence relations are a crucial dimension of analysis to understand how states navigate between realist and liberal logics and particularly between the balancing and integration strategies. Specifically, I distinguish between three types of power–dependence relationships: limitation, neutralisation, and competition. Limitation and neutralisation make the balancing strategy viable by allowing power to offset dependence and thus preserve the autonomy of the state. On the other hand, when limitation and neutralisation are no longer workable, particularly in the case of cross-temporal interdependence, the balancing strategy becomes unreliable, and integration tends to become an attractive alternative. In the case of competition between a state’s different sources of dependence, the loss of flexibility brought about by integration may prove costly by limiting the state’s ability to address various dependencies simultaneously. Empirically, I illustrate these mechanisms by showing that post-war European integration started as a response to a situation of cross-temporal interdependence between France and West Germany, which tended to make the limitation and neutralisation strategies unreliable. However, military integration was later hindered by the tension between competing sources of dependence for France, which increased the cost of the loss of flexibility entailed by military centralisation.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic mosquito-borne Flavivirus, with bird populations reservoirs. Although often asymptomatic, infection in humans can cause febrile symptoms and, more rarely, severe neurological symptoms. Previous studies assessed environmental drivers of WNV infections, but most overlooked areas with potential WNV circulation despite no reported human case, and mixed mechanisms affecting hosts vs. vectors. Our objective was to generate a WNV Bird Risk Index (BRI) mapping the potential of WNV circulation in bird communities across Europe. We first used a bird traits-based model to estimate WNV seroprevalence in European wild bird species and identify eco-ethological characteristics associated with it. This allowed us to build a map of the WNV BRI that showed a strong spatial heterogeneity across Europe. To validate this metric, using a Besag-York-Mollie 2 spatial model in a Bayesian framework, we showed a positive association between the BRI and the number of years with notified WNV human cases between 2016 and 2023, at the NUTS administrative region scale. To conclude, we provide a map quantifying the suitability for WNV to circulate in the bird reservoir. This allows to target surveillance efforts in areas at risk for WNV zoonotic infections in the future.